fandomhighdorms | The Gym / Wednesday, August 4 / Morning

Dinah arrived, and headed straight for the mats, dropping her gear at the side and starting to stretch too, arms reaching out above her head. "I'm glad you remembered we wanted to do this before I left." Streeeeetch. "Even if I'll be back at Homecoming, that's a while to wait."

"I remembered," she said with a smirk. "I just wanted you to be at your best."

"Suuuure," Dinah teased lightly, straightening, and shaking out her fingers. "Learn anything new while you were away?"

"Why, did you learn something while I was away?" She finished her stretching and raised an eyebrow at her one time student.

"How to drop a building on a guy, not to trust tour guides in London if they're wearing velvet, and the price of spiced bird spine at the end of the universe," Dinah said smartly, then grinned. "Mostly, though, more of the same." She cracked her knuckles, then got into ready position. "No powers. And not to the pain."

"I like the part about dropping a building," she told Dinah. Azula fell into a stance. "Agreed." She flashed Dinah a cocky grin, "Come, Dinah, show me what you've learned."

Dinah rolled her eyes, amused. "You would. And I had help."

And before she finished speaking, she dove forward in a somersault, popping up as close as she could, aiming a very fast kick at Azula's mid-section.

Azula was surprised but pivoted at the last second, she countered with a roundhouse punch to Dinah's head.

She had an amused smile on. That was more like it.

Azula's reflexes were still amazing, but Dinah's had gotten better. Still not up to the other girl's standards, but enough that she managed to duck the punch, even if just barely. She reached for Azula's arm, knowing even as she did so that she probably wouldn't be able to pull off the hip-throw she had in mind, but too curious to see how Azula would get out of it to resist trying anyway.

"So who did you spar with while you were home?"

She had improved while Azula was away. Dinah gripped her arm and realized what she was going for, instead of fighting it Azula allowed Dinah to throw her over but she kept her other hand free to catch the floor when she hit it. With her arm to support her Azula launched a kick to Dinah's chin.

"The Royal Guards," she told Dinah. She was allowed that exercise but for every five she sparred with there were ten more poised to strike if she did anything stupid.

"Gahhh," was Dinah's first comment, as the toe slammed her chin upward, making her bite her tongue. She stumbled backward, but sucked blood off her tongue and recovered, getting her stance back, and circling again, looking for an opening. "I want to learn that one. Did they like that? Ow."

"Then fallback on your lessons," she advised not hiding the smirk accompanied by the hit. "I merely flowed with your movements and used that momentum against you."

She waited for Dinah's attack, watching her movements. She wasn't here to be the aggressor. "I don't know if they like it but they deserved a few bruises--" and broken bones "--to keep them on their toes. It would be pitiful if the guards would fall behind in their duties just because the Fire Nation is no longer at war."

Flow, flow, water, not earth, except that was Azula's weakness; she wasn't as good at standing through attacks as she was as at avoiding or deflecting them. Dinah took a breath and relaxed her stance, still circling, and tried to put the flow into the next palm-edged strike at Azula's shoulder, aiming to make it fast and stinging and then pull back fast enough not to get caught.

"So Zuzu has them all bored and marching around?" Heh. Zuzu. That never stopped being funny.

The strike was fast, fast enough it hit true. She hissed at the impact and took a brief step back before charging forward with a swift one, two combination on Dinah's trunk.

Azula knew she was a fast learner. She'd be a formidable warrior when the time comes. She also liked how Dinah kept using her nickname for Zuko.

"Very bored, I take my turn helping out their regimen once in a while."

The first one hit, but Dinah managed to turn and take the second one only glancingly, breathing hard, and lashed out on instinct toward Azula's jaw, using her elbow and putting her weight behind it.

"Send 'em exploring, not conquering... or diving off cliffs..." Well, that was Dinah's idea of fun.

Azula saw the elbow coming at the corner of her eye, she moved her head a bit but Dinah's elbow landed a glancing blow to her jaw and her head snapped back and she tasted blood.

She licked her lip. "Heh." Then because she was close enough to Dinah she smashed her head against Dinah's. Azula has a very hard head.

"I think guarding me is adventurous enough but I approve of driving off cliffs. We must do that sometime."

Yes, she was making a point by speaking without breathing too hard.

"Agh." A cut-off grunt of pain, but man, that one was going to leave a bruise. Dinah had already known Azula was hard-headed, she didn't need that much confirmation!

Seeing stars, she tried to hook one foot behind Azula's ankle and yank, centering herself low and unmoving.

"Well, I enjoyed it, when I visited Karla's world... of course, they have dragons to do it with."

Azula went slack, if she was going down, she was going to take Dinah with her and maybe hit her on the face a little too.

"I didn't see any dragons when I visited her world, I'd have like to see one. They're extinct in mine."

"They were awesome... ack!"

Dinah hit the mat next to Azula and rolled, wincing as she stretched the side that Azula had just hit. Flow, flow, and speed -- more rolling and then she was up, panting for breath and annoyed that Azula wasn't. Breeeeathe.

Okay, re-think this, where was a good place to start another attack?

"Maybe I could see a dragon one day."

Azula rolled away but didn't stand, she remained crouching, looking up at Dinah with a frown. "I'm pretty sure I taught you something about breathing, didn't I? It's imperative you take the lessons to heart or else your enemy will take advantage or just outlast you."

Edited 2010-08-05 02:46 (UTC)

Dinah refrained from rolling her eyes, because yes, Azula had taught her that. She just hadn't had to use it in a while; all the wrong sorts of fights. Another breath, re-centering and loosening up again, and she said, "Yes, you did. I'm trying to pass that along to Momoko. As well as a few other things."

Circling. Left, right, grinning, and then feinting to the right super-fast, hoping Azula would fall for it.

"A student of a student, I'm honored. Maybe I could teach Momoko personally. I like her." Azula eyed Dinah's movements she rose to her feet, exploding into motion, jumping away from Dinah refusing to play her game.

Darnit. Azula was just too good at reading body language to fall for most tricks. Dinah set a course to intercept, so to speak; trying to make her movements loose and flowing, like water-- and then the image of soundwaves came to her, and it sort seemed to help. A straight course, with power behind it, in waves.

"She'll need it when I leave. She's got to be able to handle people, as well as monsters, and she has trouble with that."

Azula met her head on, very much approving of Dinah's flowing movements and felt the hit on her stomach. She grunted. "Do more of that."

In return Azula raised her knee and smashed it against Dinah's gut, borrowing from the Earthbender's philosophy on strength.

"I could teach her," she offered. "She seemed agile."

Breathe breath breathe and it helped, to have just been reminded of that just now, although it increased Dinah's desire to land more hits.

Another spin away and then spinning back, using stuff learned in sword fighting to increase her momentum. "Do it. Offer to teach her. She's taken one class, and she gets distracted. Frustrated. But she's better than she thinks she is."

"That's better." She told Dinah seeing her work through the breathing she instructed. "Now, maybe you can land more substantial hits."

Azula danced in step with Dinah's motions, curious to see where she was going with this.

"And what kind of training do you think I should do to her?"

Lashing out with one hand to the shoulder, spin and last toward the funnybone on the other side. Arthur always said that if she practiced enough, she could start trusting her instincts.

"I'm afraid she'll meet someone stronger than her, and not know how to defend herself. She's so strong. But she doesn't want to hurt anyone. Bad combination." Dinah took a breath, diving past Azula again to pop up fast. "She needs to find balance with it."

She deflected the first blow but somehow missed the second one and Azula sucked in a breath. Using her free arm, she turned into the move and elbowed Dinah.

"Look at you, talking like a sifu." Azula danced away after her strike. "I'll speak with Momoko."

Edited 2010-08-05 07:12 (UTC)

The Gym / Wednesday, August 4 / Morning

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